Hungarian automotive industry: week 15 2020
Fotó: Autoliv News and Media
Autoliv temporarily resumes production at its Hungarian unit with limited resources. The Transport Council has adopted a major reform plan of the EU road transport sector, known as the mobility package, a draft legislation deemed dangerous by several member states, including Hungary. Let's recap what last week brought in the region's automotive sector. Clicking on the highlighted items will open the full stories.
Autoliv announced last week to temporarily resume production in Sopronkövesd until Easter. Thus, Autoliv become the second company to restart manufacturing activities in Hungary after Denso Gyártó Magyarország Kft. Production resumed temporarily for one week, while in continuation, the plant’s operations schedule will depend on further order volumes.
Navigation systems developer NNG has been forced to lay off one fifth of its employees due the Covid-19 pandemic.
Volkswagen has also joined the line of automotive companies making efforts to engage in the production of health aid equipment. The car maker’s 3D-printed masks will be delivered to Spain’s epidemic-ridden regions.
Last week also brought developments in Dieselgate. Volkswagen is likely to come out as the losing party from a lawsuit brought against it by 90,000 car owners in the UK for exceeding emissions limits.
AutoWallis, a distributor with market presence in 14 countries, registered a record year in 2019. The group has plans to continue expansion in the years to come in accordance with an elaborate business strategy.
Last week, several manufacturers reported on falling new car sales in the USA. IHS Markit has further downgraded its forecast for the Chinese vehicle market in 2020.
British analyst firm AutoAnalysis is predicting $100 billion worth of losses for OEMs if they are not able to resume production in Europe and North America by the end of the month.
Negative projections are not sparing other segments either. According to the Federation of German Industries, the global GDP could decrease by as much as 3 percent this year. At the same time, a significant recession and sharp rise of unemployment are expected in Germany.
China is looking at a growing level of uncertainty in its industry, as an increasing number of US-based companies are removing capacities and investments from China as a direct result of the pandemic.
Covid-19 has brought substantial changes in employment in short period of time. One of the notable changes is the growing application of teleworking, which could prevail even after the critical situation. We interviewed Trenkwalder last week about the prospects of home office working in the future in Hungary.
The member states of the European Union have voted in favour of the new mobility package, which first has to be approved by the European Parliament before it would take effect. If the regulation is passed, the Hungarian government will still have the option to file a protest at the European Court of Justice to request a repeal.
According to the European Battery Alliance (EBA), the European evolution of electromobility has reached a turning point. A programme initiative by EBA has set to outline the guidelines of battery development in Europe in order to ensure the competitive and environmentally friendly operation of the EU’s battery sector.
